"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." ~George Bernard Shaw

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time." ~Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Thankful Thursday and Early Feline Friday September 30, 2021


I am so thankful today for all our good friends
that we have in our lives and especially all our 
good four legged friends that have blessed
our lives by choosing us .
Lucy chose us almost 11 years ago.
And everyday has been fun with her.
Here's the first photo I took of her-
you can see she still isn't quite sure of us.


But very quickly she came to love us as much
as we always loved her !
Thanks Brian for Thankful Thursday!
And Thanks to Sandee for Feline Friday!
Have a lovely day every day!
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Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Wordless Wednesday! September 29, 2021



Dang....where did summer go?


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Monday, September 27, 2021

Happy Tuesday!!!! September 28, 2021

 

John Wagner, a Hallmark artist since 1970, says Maxine was inspired by his mother, his maiden aunts and his grandmother, the woman who bought him art lessons when 'fill in the pumpkins' was about the extent of his art classes at St John's Catholic School in Leonia, N.J.

John remembers doodling as a preschooler and says both his grandmother and his mother encouraged his artistic interests. He eventually attended the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and landed at Hallmark as part of a new artists group. But it was the birth of the humorous Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) in 1986 that added a new dimension to John's professional life. The Shoebox way of seeing the world unleashed his talents and he created Maxine.
Why the name 'Maxine'?  'People at Shoebox started referring to the character as 'John Wagner's old lady,' and I knew that would get me into trouble with my wife,' John says. The Shoebox team had a contest among themselves to name the character and three of the  approximately 30 entries suggested 'Maxine'. John says the name is perfect.     
John, who says he's humbled by such acceptance of Maxine, admits he's proud of her. Now you know the story of how Maxine came to be.   




Have a very Happy Tuesday!
Thanks Sandee!
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Sunday, September 26, 2021

Awww Monday September 27, 2021


Dinner with Rick and Debbie- 
plus their 4 hens-a-laying !!
They have such a wonderful backyard.
Room for the chickens and lots of veggies!


Below is a version of what my Bro-in-law
cooked for us! Needless to say the shrimp and veggies
were delicious!


Have a lovely and delectable week!
Thanks Sandee!
Cheers!

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Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Wordless Wednesday September 22, 2021


Thanks Sandee for Wordless Wednesday!

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Monday, September 20, 2021

Happy Tuesday! September 21, 2021

Well our little Kitty pals are adjusting to us. 

Fifi has actually allowed me to come in where 

she was reclining and she did NOT run under the bed! 


She allowed me to almost pet her with one finger!
She did sniff my finger before turning her nose up!


Meanwhile Lola chowed down her food before 
wanting to go for a walk.


So sorry Lola- we are not allowed to take you outside as we don't want to have you get lost! You will have to wait for your family to return in a few days!

And meanwhile Muffin is inhaling her food!
Enjoy your tasty meal and we'll be back tomorrow morning! 
We love these sweet kitties!

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Sunday, September 19, 2021

Awww Monday September 19, 2021


We are taking care of our friends three cats while they are on a little 7 day vacation. They do not stay with us - we go visit 
and play with them - some are more shy than others!
Here are photos of Muffin and Fifi.
I will post Poo's photo another day!   


Fifi is so shy I could not convince her to look at me
 let alone come out from under the bed! 
Darn- she's a sweet kitty.
Muffin is a bit more sociable 
and I finally convinced her to play!
By the end of the week they will all relax.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Wordless Wednesday and Our Return Home September 15, 2021

 The Parowan Gap

Russell and I set out early Monday for Salt Lake City on our three day return drive knowing we would do a bit of exploring on the way! 


Our first stop was the Parowan Gap- a site full of petroglyphs! We spent a few hours there - I had never seen petroglyphs before and was fascinated by these ancient drawings on stone. If you click on the images they will be easier to see.








Final photo- this gives you the idea of how huge these cliffs are. 
Before we drove away I took this photo as a comparison to ancient petroglyphs and today's ? petroglyphs!!


And I also took this photo of the sunflowers we have been seeing all along our drives through Utah.


Our next stop before Salt Lake City was the historic Cove Fort.
We spent quite some time exploring this fascinating restored site. Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley at the request of Brigham Young. Here are a few photos:


Russell standing by the original cabin



Here's the restored fort. 
The flag was at half mast.
  Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox had ordered the flags of the United States of America and the great state of Utah to be flown at half-staff at all state facilities from sunset, August 26, 2021, until sunset on August 30, 2021, in honor of the U.S. service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. 


The community vegetable garden.


Russell reading the historic information plaque. There was a lot to see and learn about at the site. Really glad we stopped here.


We finally arrived back in Salt Lake City! 
And the next morning found us legally speeding!


Holy smokes - what was interesting is that driving these speeds actually improved our gas mileage. Instead of the usual 28 mpg we were getting 35 mpg! 


Now driving through Idaho and the speed limits are the same.


Ahhhh finally we have reached the Columbia River! Our friends in Baker City Oregon will be happy to see us!
We had a great time on our 9 day drive- but it is always good to be home and cuddle with our Lucy! 


Have a great Wordless Wednesday!
Thanks Sandee!
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Monday, September 13, 2021

Awww Monday and The Third and Last day of the Bicycle Race! September 13, 2021

Thanks Sandee for Awww Mondays! 
And many thanks to our awesome friends who included us 
in their adventurous 3 Day 500 Mile Bicycle race! 
What a ride!

 

Well, I am back on my own driving from Panquitch Utah back to St George Utah! I chose to take the scenic route rather then hooking up to I-15 and zooming down the freeway. 
So I ambled south down on 143, stopped at Panguitch Lake and went past a skiing mountain area Brian Head elevation 11,299 feet before turning south to go down on 148 past Cedar Breaks National Monument. 


I made a few stops along the way- to take in the majestic views. 


Eventually I made my way back to the I-15 freeway and made good time getting back to St George Utah and was able to check back in early at the very nice Best Western  Abbey Inn.
Got settled and then went to the pool area to swim and read .
I eventually got a bit hungry and after looking a bit online I chose to go to Georges Corner Restaurant !!  WOW- delicious !!  I definitely would go back for more yummy food!     
Unfortunately we all were not able to get in there for dinner so we chose a not so great place Texas Roadhouse and all I will say is DO NOT EAT THERE. Noisy, crowded and marginal food.
But it was fun to celebrate 
The Three Day 500 Mile Bicycle Race!
Here are two of our good friends coming in to the finish line!



I even managed to capture their finish time!
The next day we all packed up our cars and began the 3 day odyssey back to our homes! What an adventure!
Tomorrow I will wrap up this fun time with a few adventures Russell and I had on our 3 day drive home!
Cheers and have a lovely day!

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Friday, September 10, 2021

Feline Friday and the Second Day of the Bicycle Race! September 10, 2021

Image credit  HERE

Since so much of the Utah scenery is red and orange tones I chose a Ginger cat for today's Feline Friday!
Enjoy and have a meowy nice day!
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The following photos were taken around 5:40am on
Saturday August 28, 2021 outside by our motel Prospectors Inn. 
A great place to stay! These four are some of the
tough and intrepid hard core and crazee bicycle racers!
Here are some more before they all blasted off at 7am!



Then after they left Russell and I took off to explore on our own! 


We first headed back up to Escalante so the we could see the Anazasi Indian Village State Park! 
Well worth backtracking to see it! 
I only took two photos of it- so be sure to explore this site.


Their web site explains my few photos: 

"Explore an Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) village that was likely occupied from A.D. 1050 to 1200, and one of the largest communities west of the Colorado River. Outside the museum, tour a life-sized, six-room replica of an ancient dwelling and view a portion of the original site. Inside, view artifacts excavated from this site and learn the lifeways of these people."


From there we drove further north on 12 and then
hooked up onto 24 driving up and down summits of 9,000' and 8000'! Amazing views and parks that we drove through stopping hither and yon to take short hikes and take photographs. It was an Unforgettable and Amazing day! Here are just a few photos:





We stood on the edge of massive beauty.









And then we were back on the road.....
coming down 62 and onto 89 where we stopped in Circleville the to visit the home of Butch Cassidy!  


No kidding!




I took some interior photos - there's a bit of glare from the plastic shields keeping folks from walking into the space.




Had to get a photo of Russell in front- the last time he was here was way back in the 1960's! He really wanted to come back and see if it had survived! And it had because this guy below helped restore this piece of history!


 

We finally pulled into the town of Panguitch UT
as all the bike riders showed up!



They were ready for hot showers and a delicious dinner
and then to bed! As tomorrow is the final ride back into 
gorgeous St George Utah!
Thanks Sandee for sharing this Feline Friday space with all the bike riders! Cheers!
~~~~~

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